A new book sheds light on the alleged "professional torture" Ann Curry was subjected to before her messy June 2012 exit from the TODAY show. Plus, Kourtney Kardashian's family and friends go bowling to celebrate her 34th birthday: See Us Weekly's top stories from Thursday, April 18, in the roundup!

Studio 1A was a very unhappy -- and unfriendly -- place for Ann Curry during her final, embattled year at the TODAY show. According to a new excerpt from Brian Stelter's book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, the co-anchor was the target of some cruel jokes leading up to her June 2012 departure.

Media reporter Brian Stelter says Ann Curry was devastated over her departure from the TODAY show -- almost to the point of literal mourning. "It feels like I died," she reportedly told colleagues, "and I've seen my own wake."